What's happening
This bill requires legislative approval before the closure of state mental health, developmental disability, or youth facilities in New York.
Why it matters
Shifts decision-making power. By requiring legislative approval before closing state facilities, the bill transfers significant authority from executive agencies to elected representatives, increasing democratic oversight and potentially making closures much harder or slower to enact.
Protects vulnerable populations and local economies. State mental health, developmental disability, and youth facilities often serve as safety nets and major local employers. This bill creates new hurdles for closure, making it less likely that communities or vulnerable individuals will face abrupt loss of services or jobs.
Mandates transparency and justification. Agencies must provide detailed, advance reports justifying any proposed closures and respond to legislative requests for additional data. This could lead to more public debate and scrutiny over the necessity and impact of shutting down facilities.
May increase political and operational complexity. While increasing checks and balances, the requirement for legislative approval could politicize closure decisions, possibly leading to delayed actions even when closures are justified by shifting needs, budget constraints, or better care models.
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Legislature Must Approve Facility Closures
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Legislature Must Approve Facility Closures
In Senate Committee · Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities · Sponsor David Carlucci
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
329
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the executive law, in relation to requiring legislative approval for the closure of certain office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities or office of children and family services facilities and institutions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (e) of section 7.17 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 723 of the laws of 1993, paragraph 1 as amended by chapter 170 of the laws of 1994, paragraph 3 as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
(e) In the event that the plan for state and local mental health services, developed in accordance with subdivision (b) of this section, determines that significant service reductions are anticipated for a particular state-operated hospital or its catchment area, or a state-operated research institute, the commissioner shall take the following actions[, provided nothing in this subdivision shall create a basis for enjoining any otherwise lawful service reductions]:
1. submit a written report to the legislature at least three hundred sixty-five days prior to the date the office is seeking closure of any facility or institution. Such report shall include justification for the proposed closure. The legislature may require any additional information or data that it deems necessary in such report. If the legislature, or the appropriate committees thereof, upon review of the report submitted to it by the office, finds that the proposed closure is not justified then closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote of each house of the legislature.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05180-01-9
S. 329 2
2. confer with the department of civil service, the governor's office of employee relations and any other state agency to develop strategies which attempt to minimize the impact on the state workforce by providing assistance in obtaining state employment in state-operated communitybased services or other employment opportunities, and to develop strategies for the development of necessary retraining and redeployment programs. In planning such strategies, the commissioner shall provide for the participation of the representatives of the employee labor organizations and for the participation of managerial and confidential employees to ensure continuity of employment;
[2.] 3. consult with the department of economic development and any other appropriate state agencies to develop strategies which attempt to minimize the impact of such significant service reductions on the local and regional economies;
[3.] 4. provide for a mechanism which may reasonably be expected to provide notice to local governments, community organizations, employee labor organizations, managerial and confidential employees, consumer and advocacy groups of the potential for significant service reductions at such state-operated hospitals and state-operated research institutes at least twelve months prior to commencing such service reduction, provided, however, that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied with respect to reductions at Central Islip Psychiatric Center, Gowanda Psychiatric Center, Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center, Kings Park Psychiatric Center, Willard Psychiatric Center and Manhattan Children's Psychiatric Center; and
[4.] 5. consult with the office of general services and any other appropriate state agency in developing a mechanism for determining alternative uses for land and buildings to be vacated by the office of mental health. Such a mechanism should include a review of other programs or state agencies that could feasibly expand their operations onto a state-operated hospital campus and are compatible with health, safety and programmatic needs of patients served in such facilities.
§ 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 13.18 to read as follows: § 13.18 Closure of facilities.
The commissioner shall submit a written report to the legislature at least three hundred sixty-five days prior to the date the office is seeking closure of any facility or institution. Such report shall include justification for the proposed closure. The legislature may require any additional information or data that it deems necessary in such report. If the legislature, or the appropriate committees thereof, upon review of the report submitted to it by the office, finds that the proposed closure is not justified then closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote of each house of the legislature.
§ 3. Subdivision 15 of section 501 of the executive law, as amended by section 1 of part H of chapter 58 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
15. In the event that the office of children and family services determines that significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a private or not-forprofit entity are anticipated in the office of children and family services long term planning process or for a particular facility in a future year, to take the following actions:
(a) submit a written report to the legislature at least three hundred sixty-five days prior to the date the office of children and family services is seeking closure of any secure or limited secure facility.
S. 329 3
Such report shall include justification for the proposed closure. The legislature may require any additional information or data that it deems necessary in such report. If the legislature, or the appropriate committees thereof, upon review of the report submitted to it by the office of children and family services, finds that the proposed closure is not justified then closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote of each house of the legislature.
(b) confer with the department of civil service, the governor's office of employee relations and any other state agency to develop strategies which attempt to minimize the impact on the state workforce by providing assistance in obtaining state employment in state-operated communitybased services or other employment opportunities, and to develop strategies for the development of necessary retraining and redeployment programs. In planning such strategies, the commissioner of the office of children and family services shall provide for the participation of the representatives of the employee labor organizations and for the participation of managerial and confidential employees to ensure continuity of employment;
[(b)] (c) consult with the department of economic development and any other appropriate state agencies to develop strategies which attempt to minimize the impact of such significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a private or not-for-profit entity on the local and regional economies;
[(c)] (d) provide for a mechanism which may reasonably be expected to provide notice to local governments, community organizations, employee labor organizations, managerial and confidential employees, consumer and advocacy groups of the potential for significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a private or not-for-profit entity at such state-operated facilities, at least twelve months prior to commencing such service reduction; and
[(d)] (e) consult with the office of general services and any other appropriate state agency in developing a mechanism for determining alternative uses for land and buildings to be vacated by the office of children and family services. Such a mechanism should include a review of other programs or state agencies that could feasibly expand their operations onto a state-operated campus and are compatible with health, safety and programmatic needs of persons served in such facilities.
§ 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the mental hygiene law and the execu- tive law, in relation to requiring legislative approval for the closure of certain office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities or office of children and family services facilities and institutions
Purpose
These provisions will require the commissioner of either the office of mental health, office of people with developmental disabilities or office of children and family services to submit a report to the legis- lature upon the closure of any facility or institution.
Summary of provisions
Section one - The commissioner shall submit a written report to the legislature at least a year prior to the date the office is seeking closure, of any facility or institution relating to mental health, developmental disabilities, or offices of children and family services. If the legislature finds that the proposed closure is not justified, then the closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote, in the house of the legislature.
Read the full memo (675 words)
Section two - The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 13.18 "Closure of facilities", which restates the amendments above.
Section three - In the event that the office of children and family services determine a need for significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a private or not-for-profit entity, the commissioner must submit a full report to the legislature at least a year prior to the date the office children and family services is seeking closure of any secure or limited secure facility. The legislature may require additional information or data that deems necessary in the report. If the proposed closure is not justified, the closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote.
Section four - States that if any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
Section five - Lists the effective date.
Justification
It has been brought to the state legislature's attention that numerous offices of mental health, offices of people with developmental disabili- ties, and offices of children and family services, have been closing statewide. In order to deem theses closures necessary, the state legis- lature will be requiring the commissioner to submit a full report as to why any changes shall be made. It will be under the legislatures juris- diction as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence to prove the need for closures of any facility/institution, the need for any signif- icant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions/and or the transfer of operations to a private or not-for-profit entity.
According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, in New York State for every 100,000 citizens, psychiatric beds have decreased from 599.5 beds to approximately 27.5 (2005). Studies have shown that nearly 14,000 people with mental illnesses were incarcerated in 2012 and that this is largely due to the limited spaces available to individuals with illnesses, by the Office of Mental Health (Mental Illness Policy Org.). Steven Croll, the director of NYSARC states, "Programs and supports have been discon- tinued before alternative options have been developed," when referring to the closing of developmental disability centers in Broome County, New York. By limiting the number of facilities available to the mentally ill, disabled, and young, we are creating homelessness and transferring the ill to the criminal justice system, rather than treating them. By requiring a commissioner to submit a full report based on circumstantial data, the legislature will be able to decide if the closing of facili- ties will be justified or not.
Legislative history
2018 - S1113: Passed Senate 2017 - S1113: Passed Senate 2016 - S7495: Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
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